


How lucky we are

by capeofstorm



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, MMA fighting, Pre-Slash, Strong Female Characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-09
Updated: 2012-07-09
Packaged: 2017-11-09 12:34:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/455512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/capeofstorm/pseuds/capeofstorm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Rowena is quite taken with the MMA fighting, chemistry studying Helga, but she doesn't quite realise it. Muggle university AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How lucky we are

Rowena took a sip of her drink and winced at the taste. It was way too strong, much too much vodka to juice ratio and she glared at Salazar who was chatting up one of the freshies. She rolled her eyes at Salazar and the girl – he was dressed as a Viking, with as little covered as possible and Rowena shivered when she looked at him. It was the end of October and all Sal had on him was a tattered loincloth. Vain idiot.

She really didn’t know how she let him talk her into coming to a Halloween party at the student union. Really, it must have been his charm, damn the man. He always had a way of talking her into things she didn’t want to do. Charm and logic were her weak spots, apparently.

She didn’t, however, let him talk her into wearing a nurse’s outfit, much to his chagrin. If she had to dress up for a party she didn’t want to attend, she might as well dress up as someone she wanted to be. Besides, it also worked as a way of screening her potential conversation partners. So far none of the seven drunk firsties had the faintest idea of who she dressed up as. She sent them back with their tails tucked between their legs with just her stare. Her secondary school classmates used to call her the Ice Queen for a reason.

So there she was, standing by the wall, looking at the party goers. There were a few couples involved in sexual acts on the dance floor. She wondered how it was considered dancing – Rowena herself much preferred ballroom dancing. It was more refined and dignified.

“Are you dressed as Kahlan from the Sword of Truth books?”

The voice was pleasant and decidedly female. Rowena looked to her right and found herself looking at...

“Eowyn?”

The woman in front of her blushed and curtsied.

“Yes, indeed. Striking similarity, according to my friend. He talked me into this.”

“Well, you do look like the movie Eowyn, it’s uncanny. And yes, I’m dressed as Kahlan. You’re the first one to guess correctly.”

The blonde smiled.

“I might be a fan of those books. And the TV series, as cheesy as it was.”

Rowena snickered.

“It was quite cheesy, wasn’t it? And that dress Kahlan wore, really inappropriate for fighting.”

“She looked rather dashing in it.”

Rowena took stock of the woman again.

“That’s quite true.”

They stood in silence for a while, sipping their drinks. The silence got more and more awkward with every minute they spent looking at drunk making out couples.

“Oh goodness,” Eowyn breathed out.

“What’s wrong?”

“That guy in pirate outfit? That’s my friend, Godric. Looks like he’s getting into a fight with a Viking...”

“Who is my friend, Salazar. This will turn ugly soon. I guess we should separate them.”

The blond sighed and put her drink on a table. They moved towards Godric and Salazar but didn’t get there in time. Once Rowena managed to get Salazar away, he was clutching at his eye after Godric threw a punch at him.

When they got home, Rowena managed to curb her urge to snicker at Salazar and instead passed him a chunk of frozen ham. He bloody well deserved that black eye for taking her away from her research.

*

Rowena sat at her usual table in Starbucks, nursing a double espresso. She needed to write an essay for her Genetic Anthropology class, so she was making a plan for it. She was scribbling all over the margins of her book when someone stood over her, blocking the harsh light from the lightbulbs. She looked up, annoyed, intent on sending whoever it was scampering away when her eyes set on her.

“Hello, Kahlan.”

“Eowyn, hi.”

Eowyn gestured at the chair opposite of Rowena.

“May I?”

“If you must,” Rowena said, gathering the papers she’s strewn across her table.

“I’m Helga, by the way,” the blonde said.

“Eowyn suits you better, I think.”

“Thank you?”

Rowena nodded, going back to her notes.

“Is your name Kahlan, then?”

“What? No, don’t be silly. I’m Rowena.”

She scribbled a few more notes and bit the end of her pen in thought.

“Is your friend okay?”

Rowena furrowed her brows and looked up at Eow – Helga.

“Pardon?”

“The guy dressed as a Viking? Godric punched him last weekend during the Halloween party?”

“Yes, yes, he’s fine. His ego is bruised more than his eye.”

“Oh.”

Rowena fixes her gaze on Helga. The blonde blushes again, making Rowena curious. She looks at Helga like she looks at a maths problem, trying to figure out the rules, the outcomes. She’s not quite sure what to make of this woman who looks like Eowyn, who is friends with a man who swung at her best friend. There was something about this woman that made her uncomfortable in a most disconcerting way, sending shivers down her spine and making her stomach flop.

“Indeed.”

Rowena took a sip of her espresso, noticing it went cold. She must have worked on her notes for longer than she thought.

“Am I bothering you?”

Rowena was tempted to say yes - she usually did say yes.

“I could use a break,” she replied instead.

Helga smiled at that, her grip on her coffee loosening, her whole posture relaxing.

“What were you studying?”

“I have an essay due in Genetic Anthropology at the end of next week, want to get it done before my Molecular Chemistry course starts next week.”

“You’re taking MolChem? Me too. With Donovan?”

Rowena nodded.

“You’re in the medical program?”

“I’m studying to be a teacher, actually.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I was always good at chemistry, so why not? You’re in the medical?”

“Microbiology, actually. MolChem is one of my required courses for that.”

“I guess I will be seeing you in class then,” Helga said with a smile.

She had adorable dimples when she smiled, Rowena noticed.

“So you will.”

*

Salazar managed to drag her out to the open day at the student union gym, claiming it was for her own well being. When she reminded him that she ran every morning he waved it away.

“I’m not talking about that. You should get out more, darling. I swear, you’ll be covered in dust from your precious books soon.”

“So this has nothing to do with the fact that you want me to be your wingwoman, Sal?”

“That, too. Your icy stare keeps the insipid little girls away while I can take stock of more desirable prospects.”

“You’re such a pig.”

“I know but I’m the pig who brings you 99 Flakes, babe.”

“Don’t call me babe.”

Salazar smiled, showing off his perfectly white and straight teeth. She bet his parents spent hundreds on braces when he was a teenager. No-one could be born with such straight teeth, it was genetically impossible.

“Come on, there'll be a MMA fight, that would be fun to watch, right?”

“Yes, because watching people beat the crap out of one another is so entertaining.”

“Jesus, Raven, you need to get laid and soon.”

“Quit thinking with your dick, Salazar, it isn’t cute. And not everyone needs to be a walking venereal disease.”

“Tsk, tsk, Raven, are you slut shaming me? What would your feminist sisters say if they found out?”

“Go to hell.”

“Been there, done that. Wow, she’s hot.”

Rowena rolled her eyes at Salazar but looked in the direction he was staring. A tall, lean girl with a long blonde braid was bandaging her hands carefully. She looked vaguely familiar. Rowena rummaged through her bag, finding her glasses and putting them on.

“It’s that idiot who punched me,” Salazar muttered.

And so it was - Godric, Rowena remembered, seemed to be prepping the female fighter for the upcoming fight. He put her gloves on, took her head between his hands and rested his forehead on hers, seemingly giving her a pep talk. He let her go after placing a smacking kiss on her forehead and Rowena took in a startled breath.

Helga was a MMA fighter.

“That’s Helga.”

“Who?”

“Remember that girl who helped me pull off that guy from you during the party?”

“Not really, no.”

Rowena sighed, annoyed.

“Anyway, that’s her, that’s Helga. And that guy is Godric, her friend.”

“How do you know?”

“I was talking to her before you and Godric started brawling. She was the only one who knew who I dressed up as.”

Salazar turned to look at her shrewdly. It unnerved her a bit.

“What?”

“Nothing, Raven, nothing.”

“Stop calling me that, Salazar, you know perfectly well I hate nicknames.”

Salazar turned to look back at the ring. The fight was about to start any minute now and Rowena found herself excited at the prospect. She really wanted to see what Helga could do.

She didn’t have to wait long. Helga fought against another girl, this one a red head with what looked like a mean punch. Helga twisted and turned, kicking at her opponent, delivering a slap to the side of her head. Rowena winced at the imagined pain.

Rowena’s breath quickened as she watched the fight, her hands tightening in anticipation and excitement. She never took her eyes of Helga, not even for a second. She winced when Helga’s opponent managed to push her to the ground and land a few blows before Helga got right back up on her feet.

Helga and her opponent fought hard, too hard for it to be staged.

“Is that normal? The velocity and strength of the blows, I mean,” she asked Salazar.

Salazar shook his head.

“No, actually. They were supposed to just spar, get people interested and stop so people could ask questions.”

At that moment, Helga’s opponent managed to get her on the ground again. She prepared to deliver a kick to Helga’s stomach but Helga grabbed her foot and yanked her down beside her, immediately covering the red head’s body with hers, twisting her left arm painfully behind her back.

“Something tells me that’s not in the rules.”

“‘Cause it’s not. Seems it’s turning into quite a cat fight. Where’s pudding where you need it?”

Rowena decked Salazar up the head and looked back at the ring. Godric jumped up onto it, grabbing Helga and dragging her from the red head. A burly guy grabbed the red head, also dragging her from the ring. Rowena chewed on her lip before getting up, her bag clasped tightly in her hands.

“Where are you going?”

“To see if Helga is alright.”

“I’ll go with you, I wouldn’t mind getting to know her.”

Rowena glared at Salazar, her finger poking him in the chest.

“You stay away from her, Salazar Slytherin, or so I swear I will make your life miserable.”

Salazar raised his hand in surrender.

“Fine, fine, now let’s go.”

They walked through the crowd to where they saw Helga and Godric last. Rowena craned her neck, looking for Helga. Salazar, who towered over her, pointed his finger in the direction of locker rooms.

“They’re going to the locker rooms, you want to follow?”

“Yes.”

They made their way to the locker rooms, raised voices ringing out in the space.

“God damn it, Godric, I told you she would do this! She'll never back down from me, she took this way too seriously!”

“What do you want me to do?!”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe you should stop sleeping with all my sparring partners?!”

Rowena looked at Salazar with a raised brow. He scowled at her and banged on the door. The voices silenced quickly.

“What?”

Rowena entered the room, her eyes looking for Helga.

“Hey, I just wanted to see if Helga is all right... Are you?”

Helga smiled when she saw her. She blew a lock of stray hair away from her face, and moved closer to Rowena.

“I’m fine, just fine. Hi, Rowena, pleasant surprise to see you here. And this is Godric, you know him already - oh, and ah, hi. Sorry about your eye, Godric is sorry for that, aren’t you, ‘Ric?”

Godric looked at Helga incredulously.

“Are you babbling, Helga?”

Helga blushed, her eyes dropping to her still bandaged hands. Rowena heard Salazar snicker.

“You’re the prissy Viking,” Godric said, measuring Salazar.

Salazar straightened, put his most annoying shit eating grin on. Rowena rolled her eyes and caught Helga doing the same.

“You’re the annoying pirate.”

“Remember me, I see. How’s the eye?”

“Brilliant. Didn’t even bruise.”

“Oh really? You certainly did whine like a girl after I punched you.”

Helga threw her hands up in the air.

“Quit it, you two. Just fucking quit it.”

Salazar quirked his head.

“I’ll take my leave. Ladies.”

Salazar left the room, leaving Rowena alone with Helga and Godric.

“So... That didn’t look like it was a mock fight.”

Helga scowled.

“It was supposed to but Marisol thinks I’ve stole Godric from her.”

“Did you?”

Godric scoffed at that.

“Helga is like a sister to me, don’t be ridiculous.”

Helga looked at Godric in a weird way, Rowena noted. He looked between the two of them, his expression that of surprise, his mouth open in an o shape.

“Right, that’s my cue to go, nice meeting you, Regina.”

“Rowena,” Rowena corrected, annoyed.

Godric waved his hand in a “whatever” motion as he left the room.

“Didn’t know you were interested in MMA,” Helga quipped as she sat down on the bench, undoing the bandages around her hands.

“I’m not - Salazar wanted to pick up a girl for himself, I’m usually his wingwoman.”

“That’s unusual.”

Rowena shrugged her shoulders.

“Salazar is unusual.”

“Yeah, I gathered that. Godric never reacted to anyone like that.”

“How did you get involved in MMA?”

“I used to get bullied as a kid, before I met Godric. When he found out, he beat up the kids who were bullying me and then talked my parents into getting me to MMA classes. We were about twelve then, I think. Been doing it ever since.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

Helga looked up at her, her head cocked to the side.

“You’re not too good with people, are you?”

Rowena looked to the side, her hand tightening around her bag. She shrugged her shoulders.

“Don’t really see the point.”

Helga chuckled.

“Yeah, I get that. Listen, let me change and we can go grab a drink at the union?”

“I’ll wait outside.”

Rowena left the locker room only to find Godric and Salazar waiting outside, matching smirks on their lips as they looked at her.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Godric replied in a sing-song voice.

Rowena frowned at him.

“You’re annoying, you know that?”

Godric laughed.

“So Helga tells me, several times a day.”

“Well, she’s right.”

“That she is. So, we’re going to the SU bar?”

Rowena shrugged.

“Apparently.”

“Good, let me get my stuff and I will join you,” Godric promised as he made his way to the locker room.

Salazar watched him go, the smirk never leaving his lips. Rowena knew that expression.

“You like him.”

Salazar looked at her incredulously.

“Don’t be absurd, Raven.”

“I am not absurd and don’t call me that, Sally.”

“Point taken and yes, you are. He amuses me, nothing more, nothing less.”

“Mhmmm.”

“Fine, he annoys me as well, satisfied?”

He scoffed, and flipped his hair over his shoulder.

“All those books have addled your brain.”

“Piss off, Slytherin.”

“I don’t know how you can be friends with him,” Godric quipped as he came out of the locker room. He threw his arm around Rowena’s shoulders. “Stick with me and you’ll get to know all the best people.”

Rowena shook his arm off her shoulders and glared at him.

“Thank you but no, thank you.”

“Godric, stop being a pain.”

Rowena turned to smile at Helga, who changed out of her work out clothes into jeans and a jumper.

“Let’s go, I’m parched. And let’s hope Marisol isn’t there or Godric will have to hold me off her again.”

“Ooh, a cat fight. I’ll tag along, then,” Salazar chimed in.

“The more, the merrier.”

“That’s what she said!”

Helga rolled her eyes at Godric as they walked out of the sports building.

“He’s not usually that bad. He’s just extra excited around new people, has to show off, mark his territory and all that.”

Rowena nodded, looking at Salazar sideways.

“Oh, I know exactly what you mean.”

*

Rowena yawned and closed her chemistry textbook. She looked at the clock, noting it was nearly four am. She looked to her right, smiling at Helga who was already asleep, her hair falling over the couch where she rested her head. She still gripped her chemistry textbook, her fingers splayed over the pages.

They had become fast, close friends over the last few months. Rowena was surprised - she never had close friends, apart from Salazar. She never really took the time to build and sustain a relationship, but she was glad she did it this time.

Helga was someone she felt she missed her whole life. She laughed a lot, told unfunny jokes and bagels with cream cheese and bacon were her favourite breakfast. She was brilliant at chemistry and knew how to handle both Godric and Salazar at the same time. She was warm and caring and whenever she smiled at Rowena, the world became brighter. She bit her nails when she was nervous, had a terribly short temper during her PMS and she couldn’t cook to save her life.

Rowena learned a lot about Helga, paying extra attention to her. At the beginning she wasn’t sure what it was about Helga that captivated her so; she chalked it up to her excitement about having a close friend who didn’t taunt or try to make her feel bad about her study habits. The funny feeling in her stomach whenever Helga smiled at her was simply due to the new kind of coffee she’s been drinking lately.

Helga was a package deal with Godric, just like Rowena was with Salazar. Things between Godric and Salazar were still tense but she came to enjoy their verbal sparring after Helga pointed out that it was, in fact, a lot of unresolved sexual tension. She liked Godric, even though he was brash and impulsive and entirely too stupid for his own good. He managed to make her feel braver about life, about trying new things, applauding every time she tried a new drink or meal. Life was too short to sit back and observe, he’d tell her as his eyes moved to Salazar. She wished he’d take his own advice.

She moved closer to Helga, brushing away her hair. Helga stirred, a sleepy sound escaping her as her eyes fluttered open.

“‘Wena? What time is it?”

“Nearly four.”

“Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to fall asleep on you.”

“It’s okay,” Rowena replied, her fingers coming to cup Helga’s cheek.

She leaned in slowly, giving Helga time to back away. Her eyes flitted from Helga’s lips to her eyes and back again as she finally closed the gap and placed a sweet, short kiss on Helga’s lips. She pulled away, trying to read Helga’s expression. The blonde smiled, one of her hands coming to tangle in Rowena’s hair. She took it as consent and leaned back to kiss Helga again, her lips dancing lightly over Helga’s.

They kissed, mapping out their mouths, enjoying the simple, gentle contact. They parted, Helga’s hand still tangled in Rowena’s hair, Rowena’s hands cupping Helga’s face. Helga smiled at her softly and the funny feeling in her stomach struck back with vengeance. Helga moved her arm, making space for Rowena to snuggle next to her, their bodies pressed together tightly, Rowena’s head resting on Helga’s shoulder. Helga’s fingers carded through Rowena’s hair in a peaceful, lulling motion.

“You have a peculiar fondness for my hair,” Rowena murmured.

Helga laughed at that, twirling a strand of Rowena’s hair around her finger.

“Yes, yes I do. Does it bother you?”

“No, it’s... nice.”

“Mmm, your hair is nice.”

Rowena smiled at that, nesting further into Helga’s embrace.

“I like you, Helga.”

“I like you too, Rowena.”

“But I still think Eowyn suits you better.”

“You can call me Eowyn, if you prefer.”

“Maybe sometimes,” Rowena said with a yawn.

“C’mon, let’s move to your bed. We might catch a few hours of sleep, I’ll set my alarm for nine thirty, plenty of time to get ready for the exam.”

“M’kay.”

They got up, stumbling sleepily through their way to Rowena’s twin bed. They laid down, Rowena by the wall, Helga by the edge, covering themselves with Rowena’s covers. Helga’s hand found Rowena’s, their fingers tangling and squeezing.

“Good night, Eowyn.”

“Good night, Kahlan.”


End file.
